The present invention relates to a vehicle imaging apparatus for generating an image of a predetermined area outside a vehicle, a vehicle monitoring apparatus employing such imaging apparatus, and a rearview mirror.
When driving a vehicle from a parked state, a driver must be check the surrounding of the vehicle and be aware of obstacles. However, there are spots beside the passenger seat or in front and rear of the vehicle that cannot be seen by the driver from the driver's seat. Thus, the driver should look around the vehicle and check the vehicle surrounding before starting the vehicle. This may be burdensome.
In the prior art, an imaging apparatus, for example, a vehicle monitoring apparatus that shows pictures of spots difficult to see from the driver's seat on a monitor, which is located in the passenger compartment, has been proposed (e.g., Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 11-78693). By using the prior art vehicle monitoring apparatus, the driver can easily check the surrounding of the vehicle from the driver's seat.
It is preferred that the area of the picture generated by the imaging apparatus be as wide as possible. Thus, the employment of a wide-angle lens or the employment of a motor, which moves the imaging apparatus, has been proposed to generate images of wide areas.
However, the maximum view angle of the wide-angle lens is not large. Further, the employment of the wide-angle lens increases costs. The employment of a motor to move the imaging apparatus increases costs. In addition, the motor enlarges the imaging apparatus, which in turn, increases the space occupied by the imaging apparatus.
To widen the imaging area, the imaging apparatus must be projected from the vehicle body. This lowers the aesthetic appeal of the vehicle. Further, a stay or bracket becomes necessary when projecting the imaging apparatus from the vehicle body. This increases the number of components.